5 Takeaways From The Heartlanders' 2022-23 Schedule

Coralville, Iowa – The Iowa Heartlanders announced the team’s 2022-23 schedule Thursday as the squad looks to build on a strong ending to their inaugural season. The Heartlanders now shift their attention to putting together an exciting and family-friendly promotional schedule, which will be released as the summer progresses. Season Ticket Memberships, Group Tickets and Partial Plans are available for the Heartlanders 2022-23 season by visiting IowaHeartlanders.com/Tickets and calling 319-569-4625.  Here are five takeaways from the Heartlanders’ schedule as the club prepares for its second ECHL season starting next October at Xtream Arena.Starting Out With A Big Home WeekendThe Heartlanders open the inaugural season with a Friday-Saturday home weekend Oct. 21-22 vs. the Idaho Steelheads at Xtream Arena, with both puck drops slated for 7:05 p.m. Promotions and the fan experience are always special at a home opening weekend, and a chance to play perennial powerhouse Idaho gives us the opportunity to see some strong action at Xtream Arena.Home openers often provide some of the most-exciting moments of a team’s season and last year’s was as good as it gets for Iowa; Ryan Kuffner scored 25 seconds into the first game ever against Kansas City in a 7-4 win. That moment set the tone for a special inaugural season.Division RefreshIowa plays in the ECHL’s Central Division and has 29 home games against division foes this season. Last season, by contrast, Iowa had 22 home games against the Central Division. Those extra seven home-ice games could be crucial once the stretch run of the season comes along because the top-four teams in each division will qualify for the Kelly Cup Playoffs.In total, Iowa has 50 games against the Central Division in 2022-23.  Lot of home games in the second half The Heartlanders play 10 home games from October – December, and the home schedule really turns up after the calendar flips to 2023. Iowa plays 26 times at home from January-April, with a majority of those on Fridays and Saturdays.The Heartlanders have also added six Sunday home games to the calendar, with early 2:05 p.m. puck drops that are ideal start times for families.Kansas City and Fort Wayne home gamesGames against Fort Wayne and Kansas City at Xtream Arena had the most sizzle of any teams that visited the Iowa River Landing in the Heartlanders’ inaugural season. Two of the games against Fort Wayne featured 140+ combined penalty minutes. The Heartlanders and Kansas City fought each other 10 times in the season series and averaged more than 40 combined penalty minutes per series matchup.Iowa hosts Kansas City twice this season (Nov. 30, Mar. 1) and Fort Wayne four times (Nov. 6, Jan. 27, Jan. 28, Jan. 29).Trois-Rivieres and Newfoundland on the calendar The Heartlanders ownership group Deacon Sports & Entertainment owns three ECHL teams – Iowa, the Newfoundland Growlers and the Trois-Rivieres Lions. The Heartlanders get a chance to take on Trois-Rivieres and Newfoundland for “bragging rights” as Iowa visits Canada for the first time in team history Dec. 2-10. The Heartlanders play the Trois-Rivieres (located in Quebec) twice and then visits St. John’s, Newfoundland for three games against the Growlers. Trois-Rivieres and Newfoundland play in the ECHL’s North Division and each made the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs.